MON SEPT 28 2026-theGBJournal| President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says Nigeria’s National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC) has helped unlock N46.95 billion in loans in its first year, using N21.59 billion in guarantees to encourage financial institutions to lend to borrowers who might otherwise struggle to secure credit.
“That means every N1 in guarantees has helped unlock about N2.17 in credit,” Tinubu said.
The president said 67,512 borrowers across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory had received NCGC-backed credit, including 11,374 women.
More than 33.5% of the beneficiaries are first-time formal borrowers, Tinubu said, meaning more than 22,000 Nigerians have entered the formal credit system for the first time.
The figures are central to Tinubu’s push to move Nigeria towards what he calls a credit-based economy.
When seeking office, the president said he promised to establish a loan guarantee scheme to help small businesses overcome the barriers that keep them from accessing finance.
The NCGC, he said, was created to tackle one of the biggest of those barriers: risk.
“Many viable businesses still meet the same obstacle at the bank,” Tinubu said.
“Lenders see too much risk in a sound business when the owner has little collateral or no credit history.”
The guarantee company takes on part of that lending risk with participating financial institutions, giving them greater confidence to lend to businesses and borrowers they might otherwise turn away.
NCGC now works with 19 financial institutions — 13 commercial banks, three microfinance banks and three development finance institutions, according to Tinubu.
The president said the impact of the scheme should be measured not only by the loans issued but also by what borrowers can do with access to credit.
“A trader can restock before the festive season,” he said. “When a manufacturer takes a bigger order and buys another machine to fill it, another Nigerian gets a job.”
NCGC estimates that businesses it has supported account for 661,291 direct and indirect jobs, Tinubu said.
He also linked the programme to other government-backed financing initiatives, including CREDICORP for consumer credit, NELFUND for student financing, and lending by the Bank of Industry and Development Bank of Nigeria.
For first-time borrowers, Tinubu said, the significance extends beyond the immediate loan.
“They now have a credit record they can build,” he said.
“Each successful repayment strengthens that record and can make the next loan easier to secure.”
The president described the programme as part of a broader transition from economic reforms to access to opportunity.
“This is how we move from reforms to opportunities,” Tinubu said. “Our reforms laid the foundation. Credit gives Nigerians the means to build on it.”
He said his administration would continue expanding access to finance until the opportunities created by its reforms reach households and businesses across Nigeria.
“Promise made, Promise kept,” Tinubu said. “We are moving from reforms to opportunities. Nigeria First.”
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